Rise and Fall of the Gold Dragon Monarch
by Shanolia
Summary: Jason was your average, normal teenage boy. At least, that's what he thought. Now, in debt to a Devil Princess, he must decide which is more important; His new family, or the wall of lies he's built up to conceal his dark past? This story is set in an alternate universe, using an original character and original plot as the primary focus.


"Pardon me?" I look up from my lunch to face the young woman who's just spoken, and the chatter in the room around us fades away as I'm taken aback by the beauty before me; Chin-length blue hair frames a soft, gentle face, the single green fringe curling around and drawing attention to the brown eyes now staring at me.

"Um... Oh, yes. Can I help you?" I struggle for a moment to find the right words to speak to her. Most of the people at Kuoh Academy, I recognise, although since moving back I've seen a lot of new faces. Hers is one of them.

"It's just that I noticed you're sitting all alone. Do you mind if I join you?" She holds a bento box steady between her clasped hands at about the same height as my head, the box smelling very slightly of boiled vegetables.

"No, not at all." I smile and pat the bench beside me, where she sits. "Though I should probably admit that I won't be alone for long. A few friends should be joining us at any minute now."

"That's quite alright. Perhaps I should introduce myself to your friends, as well?" She raises a finger to her chin in thought.

"You haven't even introduced yourself to me yet, silly."

"Oh, that's right. My name is Xenovia." She bows her head slightly. "And you're the new boy, James, was it?"

"Close. My name's Jason." I bow my head in return. "It's nice to meet you, but I'm actually not new; I was born in Kuoh."

"Oh? Then why'd you leave, if you were just gonna come back?"

"I um... That's... Kind of personal." I turn my head away, avoiding her gaze as I eat a bit of my rice from my box.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I did not mean to offend." Xenovia also turns her gaze to her lunch, unwrapping the box and opening the top. Inside is a delicious-looking meal of fried fish and boiled vegetables over rice, and the smell alone is enough to make me look down at my food with a bit of disappointment.

"Did... Did you make that?" I ask the girl in an effort to move the conversation away from that sensitive topic, earning a shake of her head in response.

"I did not. A friend of mine makes lunch for everyone who lives with him. We all do. It's kind of a rotation thing, what we do. That way, we don't end up eating the same thing every day and getting tired of it. Would you like to try some?" I politely shake my head as she uses her chopsticks to lift a piece of fish from the box.

"No, that's alright. Thank you for the offer, though." She still moves the fish towards my face as she responds.

"Please, I insist."

"Well, if you insist~" I close my eyes and open my mouth, preparing for the delicious flavour of fried goodness when suddenly I'm jarred from my fishy daydreams by a hard slap to the back.

"We leave you alone for thirty seconds, and you go and find a third-year to feed you. You really are something else, Jay." I open my eyes and turn my head to face my friend.

"Ryou, I've told you before. It's Jason." The blonde cracks his signature smile as he plops himself down on Xenovia's other side, causing her to scoot a bit closer to me.

"Yeah, yeah. You're just lucky I don't remember what your name really is, J-Man. You spend a few years in the states, and they get into your head."

"Jason isn't your real name?" The blue-haired girl looks over at me with a confused expression.

"It is now. I left the old me behind. I'd prefer we talk about something else."

"What were we talking about?" Kinn's footsteps draw the attention of our little group as he walks closer, hands behind his head with his elbows out nonchalantly.

"Jason's new life." Ryou shoots back as he uses his chopsticks to steal the fish that Xenovia had been trying to feed me. "Damn, this is some four-star fish. You make it yourself?" Xenovia slams her box shut and glares at Ryou as she stands, grabbing me by my wrist.

"A moment, please?" Without allowing me to respond, she yanks me away from my two friends and into a quieter corner of the room. "Those are your friends?" I shrug my shoulders and cast a thoughtful glance back at the two of them, whispering back and forth and blatantly staring at the two of us as we speak.

"Eh, the bottom of the barrel is still in the barrel, no?"

"I don't follow..."

"'Better than none'. Besides, we get along fine, and there's an even amount of teasing all around."

"I see. Well... I would like to be your friend, but I'm not sure I could deal with the two of them. I already deal with that kind of behaviour enough."

"I'd love to be your friend, Xenovia, and they don't have to be involved at all. I'm alright with having more than one group of friends. Besides, I much prefer your company to theirs."

"Then we're friends." She flashes the faintest of smiles. "So... What should our first act as friends be?" This is your chance, Jason. Don't screw this up.

"Well, we could start by finishing lunch? Then maybe after classes end, we can head over to the park and go for a walk, just the two of us?"

"Like a date?" She cocks her head slightly to the side.

"Not exactly... It doesn't have to be a date. You know, just... Two friends, hanging out. Walking around. Talking."

"Ah, well, in that case, I'll look forward to our not-date. Are you free on Saturday?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Should we meet outside the school?"

"Yep~ Noon alright?" I nod. "Great~ Now, let's finish our lunch before class starts?"

"Of course."

* * *

I'm so sorry." I turn my head away from my phone and stand as Xenovia walks closer, smiling. In contrast to the dark jacket, pants, and white shirt that makes up the Kuoh school uniform I'm wearing, she is dressed in casual, tight-fitting jeans and a pink shirt that stands out against her pale skin. She has her pink bento box in her hands, held in front of her by her clasped hands.

"Don't be. I'm just glad you came." Her tired expression forms a smile as a blush dusts her cheeks. "Shall we be off?" She nods quickly.

We walk side by side down the road towards the park in the centre of town, chatting about our classes; What assignments we have, what teachers we like and don't like, what recent gossip has reached our ears, little things like that. Soon enough, the lush green grass and tall trees come into view, seeming to wave as we step onto the path and begin to walk through the park. We walk along in silence for a few moments before my curiosity finally gets the better of me, and I finally have to ask.

"Hey Xenovia, can I ask you a question?"

"Oh? Of course."

"Why'd you bring your box?" I point towards the pink bento box.

"Oh. Well, you seemed to like the food I had on Wednesday, so I asked Koneko to make some more. I thought maybe we could have a picnic since we're out here." This girl knows the way into my heart~

"That sounds wonderful~ Let's find a spot to settle down and enjoy ourselves, then." She nods, and I lead her out onto the grass, finding a clearing so we can sit. Once we've settled down, she sets her box on the ground between us and opens it.

Inside is perhaps the tastiest-looking stir-fry I have ever lain eyes on; perfectly-cooked vegetables atop white rice with steak that will most certainly melt in our mouths. While it's not your typical picnic food, I'll be damned if I'm not going to enjoy it.

"Wow... This looks delicious~." My mouth waters as I stare longingly into the box. With a soft giggle, Xenovia pulls two small plates from the bottom compartment of the bento box, passing one to me along with a pair of disposable chopsticks.

"Eat up. I asked Koneko to make sure there's enough to fill us both."

"Thank you so much." I reach in with the chopsticks and begin to fill up the plate, talking and laughing with the blue-haired girl as a single cloud rolls by in the blue sky overhead.

* * *

"Man, that was probably the best meal I've had in a while," I set my plate down beside the bento box with the chopsticks neatly placed on top. "And who better to share it with than a beauty such as yourself?"

"Oh, stop it." Xenovia replies with a blush, causing us both to laugh.

"It's getting dark, so maybe we should head back? I can walk you home if you'd like?" I stand and brush the grass and dirt from my pants, offering my hand to her.

"I'd like that." She smiles at me as she places her hand in mine, allowing me to help her stand. Once she's back on her feet, she also brushes the grass and dirt from her jeans before she picks up the box once more.

We walk side by side again as we retrace our steps back towards the park entrance, remaining in relative silence. In fact, the entire park seems to have fallen silent; No more birds calling or kids playing, no cars driving by or even the rush of wind through the trees.

"Hey, have you noticed anything odd?" I ask Xenovia, turning my head first to one side, then the other.

"Not until you mentioned it..." She also begins looking around, the crack of a twig behind us, causing us both to spin around so quickly we were at risk of getting whiplash.

Approaching us as casually as one would approach an old acquaintance were two men; One appears to be about my age, with dark-coloured hair and strange armour on that seems to be Chinese in origin. The red breastplate is cut off just above his midriff, and just below are a pair of black leggings covered from the knee down to the ankles with more red armour. Similarly, red guards cover his forearms and silver pauldrons protect his shoulders. Flowing from his back are long strands of grey cloth, and there's a gold circlet just below his hairline. He's smirking, walking with a staff behind his neck that both his hands nonchalantly hang on the sides of.

Beside him is another man that seems a bit older, with piercing blue eyes and shiny silver hair. Beneath his high-collared leather jacket is a green v-neck shirt, and a silver chain hangs from the pocket of his burgundy jeans. This man is also approaching without a care in the world, his eyes travelling up and down Xenovia and I as if sizing us up.

"Well well, Bikou. I must say your tracking skills are quite remarkable." The silver-haired one speaks.

"What are you doing here?" Xenovia calls down the path towards them, placing her hand on my chest and pushing me behind her while the two men continue approaching.

"It's quite simple, Princess." The second man, Bikou, replies. "We've come to kill your boyfriend."

"Actually, I'm not her-"

"You won't be killing anyone." Xenovia throws her bento box aside, reaching behind her back and drawing a sword seemingly out of thin air.

"Whoa whoa, what's going on?" My head is spinning at the sudden weapon.

"Calm down, son of Touji. It will all be explained in due time." The silver-haired man says to me, earning a chuckle from Bikou.

"Now now, Vali, don't you think it's a little cruel to give him hope?" Vali? Bikou? I wrack my brain for any prior knowledge of these two but come up empty, opting to simply stay quiet behind Xenovia.

"I speak the truth, Bikou. Now, shall we begin?"

* * *

In a flash of light, Xenovia darts forward from her position in front of Jason, Ex-Durandal slamming against Bikou's staff in a shower of sparks. Jason is knocked backwards by the sudden burst of speed, turning and crawling to hide behind a nearby bench and watch the fighting take place. It's all a blur as Xenovia's blue broadsword repeatedly strikes against staff and scales, the gold edge matching the shower of golden sparks that rains down upon the stone path, the blue-haired girl grunting and yelling with each slash.

The fight carries on for several tense minutes before finally, Vali gets the upper hand. His hand, wrapped in dragon's scales, grabs hold of the semicircular guard and pulls the blade towards himself, causing Xenovia to lose her balance and fall into his head as he slams it towards her. Jason flinches as she falls to the ground with a thud, her sword being tossed down beside her as she lies unconscious on the path. With a chuckle, Vali raises his hand towards the bench that Jason is hiding behind.

"Nothing like some good exercise, eh Bikou?"

"It's always more fun when they fight back."

A blast of white energy flies from the palm of Vali's hand, causing the bench to shatter into several pieces. Cowering, Jason covers his head with his hands, only to be met by another blast of white energy directly into his side. With the teenage boy sprawled on the grass, his crimson essence flowing from his mouth and his wounds and staining the ground around him, Vali and Bikou continue walking along down the path, the latter whistling an upbeat tune as the bustle of the city returns in full force.

Several moments pass before Xenovia hazily returns to consciousness, immediately jumping to her feet with Ex-Durandal in her hand. Her eyes scour the area nearby before falling upon the still form of her newest friend.

"No..."

She uses her sword to channel her speed, appearing by his side almost instantly and gently lifting his head into her lap.

"I... I failed..."

Behind Xenovia, a red circle appears on the ground, and another figure steps out from it into the shadows.

"Bring him here. It's not too late." Xenovia's teary eyes fall upon this new figure, and she nods, lifting the lifeless form of Jason in her strong arms.

"I thought we had more time..."

"No. If Vali knows of his power, then we've run out of time. Come now, we haven't a second to lose."

With that, both girls step back onto the magical circle, fading into the night as the circle disappears.


End file.
